Tuesday, November 23, 2010

A Quickie

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I am posting my latest book review. It is the book "East" by Edith Pattou. I hope you'll pick up this book even over this holiday and enjoy a great adventure. Peace, Sheila.

My ThoughtsI LOVED THIS BOOK!! What a great read and I will never forget my trip with Rose and the White Bear. I learned about mapmaking and cartography (never read a book where that was an active part of the story ) I read the fairytale, “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” AFTER I read “East” and, wow!, what a great job Ms. Pattou did in enhancing the lives of the fairy tale characters. However, she was also so very, very true to the original story. I would like to learn to write AND tell a story like this, particularly expanding a fairy tale without losing the essence of the story.

If you have some SciFi readers – send them this way. I do believe your girls will be the ones most appreciative of this book – the romance and the fairy tale are a girls’ dream. Understand, though, Rose is no “wimp” or “prissy” or “milktoast” young lady – she is grit, determination, smart, adventurous and amazing. I think it will be a while until I read a young adult science fiction story that makes me fall in love and want to read it again and again and again and again and…

Author Informationhttp://edithpattou.com

I love to hear from readers and read every single letter and email I receive, but the truth is that in general I am worse than pathetic at responding. I am trying to turn over a new leaf, but sincerely hope that ninety-nine percent of your questions will be answered in the Frequently Asked Questions section of this website. On the off chance that they are not, I will do my best to respond, or will make sure your question is added to my FAQ's section.Send your emails to: info@edithpattou.com. You can also join me on Facebook.I do a limited number of school visits per year so if you are a teacher or librarian, email me at the above address and I will get back to you as soon as possible.If you prefer snail mail, my address is:Edith Pattou (author)Houghton Mifflin Harcourt222 Berkeley StreetBoston, MA 02116

If you have a book that you would like me to autograph, the very nice folks at Cover to Cover Bookstore in Columbus, Ohio will be happy to arrange for me to come in and sign, and then send it along to you.

Review From School Library JournalGrade 6 Up-A compelling novelization of the folktale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon." Rose's story-from her birth as a replacement for a dead sister to her eventual happy marriage to Charles VI's fifth child-is recounted from the kaleidoscopic viewpoints of her father, her brother, the troll queen who bewitched the Dauphin, the White Bear whom the Dauphin became until Rose's rescue, and Rose herself. Each character's unique perspective and voice adds texture and tension to the plot, which is imbued with Nordic mythology and unfolds in a unique story line. Numerous interpersonal tensions are examined, including those between a comparatively "modern" man and his superstitious wife, between the bewitched bear and the women who want to claim him as a mate, and between Rose and the neighbors she meets in each of her worlds. Pattou's writing pitches readers gracefully between myth and fantasy, inviting those unaccustomed to either genre to explore the frozen world of questing that she has so vividly created.Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA